Uli Stielike steps down as Ivory Coast coach

The 53-year-old, who took over as coach of the Elephants in 2006, told football officials in the West African country that he would have to return to Germany to be with his critically ill son.

 His son is in an intensive care unit, where he is in an induced

coma, and as a result Stielike will not be available to continue preparing the team for the showpiece of African football.

 He is said to miss the teams' first two games at the tournament and possibly could be absent for the entire duration of the January 20 - February 10 competition.

 Stielike, who won the European Championship as a player in 1980 and is the only German player to have missed a penalty in a World Cup match, will be replaced by Frenchman Gerard Gili, who is in charge of the Ivorian Olympic team, with whom he qualified for the Beijing Olympics later this year. He is a former coach of the Egyptian team.

 Ivory Coast, who are one of the favourites for the tournament, will face Nigeria, Mali and Benin in Group B. They previously won the African Nations Cup in 1992.